0:17 place so this this huge building cost
0:20 more than a billion dollars to build it
0:23 was designed for thousands of people but
0:26 right now it's completely
0:28 empty this video is a bit different for
0:31 us but today I'm taking you guys inside
0:34 one of the biggest abandoned buildings
0:36 in all of [Music]
0:46 Europe in 1979 a spaceship landed in
0:49 West Berlin it was the height of the
0:52 Cold War and Germany was cut in half
0:54 just over here the Soviets were building
0:57 the Palace of the Republic an enormous
0:58 structure that would host the parliament
1:00 of East Germany
1:02 the West meanwhile was determined it
1:04 could do anything the East could but
1:07 bigger and better so West Berlin put
1:10 forward the spaceship it was to cost a
1:12 billion marks to construct making it the
1:14 most expensive new building in the city
1:17 since World War II at its opening then
1:19 Federal president Walter Shield declared
1:22 it would Outlast even the Great Pyramids
1:25 of Giza berin gave that building a
1:27 nickname they called it the
1:30 spaceship even though it was partly
1:32 built out of spite this building has
1:34 become something of an icon for Berlin
1:37 it's both embraced and despised
1:38 depending who you
1:40 ask in many ways the construction of
1:42 this place mirrors the story of Berlin
1:46 itself it's dark it's techno it's packed
1:48 full of history and steeped in the
1:51 politics of the Cold
1:54 War but in recent years the IC has come
1:56 under threat and been left
1:59 abandoned now a new competition could be
2:01 set to reinvent this spaceship for a
2:10 different there's just something about
2:12 Berlin particularly when it comes to
2:15 architecture it can be Brash and cold
2:17 brutalist and modern a real mix of
2:20 architectural Styles and time
2:22 periods that's perhaps best represented
2:24 by the International Conference Center
2:27 or IC a building that's been done by the
2:30 locals here as the spaceship
2:32 but there's a lot more to this place
2:34 that Meets The Eye Inside is one of the
2:37 biggest convention centers in the world
2:39 a place that housed what was the second
2:43 largest stage in all of Europe and it
2:46 holds a pretty remarkable engineering
2:48 secret you see this isn't just one
2:50 massive building what you're looking at
2:52 right now is the shell and there's
2:55 something incredible suspended in sight
2:57 but to tell you the full story we first
3:01 have to go back in time
3:04 in the 1960s Berlin was very much a city
3:07 divided both physically and
3:09 ideologically in 1961 the Berlin Wall
3:11 was constructed to stop East Germans
3:14 from fleeing to the West it became one
3:16 of the most potent symbols of the
3:18 division in the country separating
3:20 families friends and
3:22 communities the East was Communist
3:24 controlled while the West Was a
3:26 democratic Enclave supported by the
3:28 British Americans and other Western
3:32 powers this was the Cold War and it was
3:35 competitive if one side did something so
3:37 too did the other whether that be
3:39 stockpiling nuclear weapons or heading
3:42 to the Moon even something as small as
3:44 City infrastructure became a way for
3:46 both sides to try and show their
3:49 superiority the two cities began to have
3:51 radically different architectural styles
3:54 to reflect their opposing ideologies
3:56 East Berlin prioritized Grand statement
3:58 pieces that showcase the government's
4:01 unopposed strength like the K marks
4:03 alley or the futuristic TV tower they
4:08 planted Alexander plats it's a 638m
4:10 watchtower that broadcast propaganda and
4:12 could be seen from pretty much
4:15 everywhere in both cities for its part
4:17 the West retaliated with modernist
4:20 architecture that symbolized progress
4:21 democratization and technological
4:24 achievements such as the burin Phil
4:27 Harmony and the Tagle Airport terminal
4:29 it was during this time that the East
4:31 announced they were be replacing the now
4:33 demolished Berlin Palace that once
4:35 housed Prussian Kings and German
4:37 Emperors with their own Palace of the
4:40 Republic inside would be the vogca the
4:43 parliament of East Germany this building
4:44 was one of the most significant
4:47 architectural projects of the German
4:49 Democratic Republic it featured
4:51 luxurious materials that weren't common
4:53 in the Soviet Union including marble and
4:56 wood paneling making it one of the most
4:58 extravagant structures in the entire
5:01 country naturally of course the West had
5:04 to respond they put forward their own
5:06 enormous extravagant building only
5:08 instead of a palace their building would
5:10 be the largest Congress Center in the
5:13 world instead of housing a Communist
5:15 Regime theirs would hold International
5:17 conferences and trade fairs it would be
5:20 a capitalist playground this place would
5:23 have another purpose too to announce
5:25 West Berlin as a hub for International
5:27 Business and culture to declare that it
5:29 could be its own City not just an
5:32 conclave in an increasingly unfriendly
5:34 part of the world the political idea of
5:37 this building was to set up a building
5:39 um which was the biggest the largest
5:43 Convention Center in Europe which was of
5:45 course a political statement at that
5:48 time to be to have it in West Berlin a
5:52 city surrounded by Communists and uh by
5:56 Uh Russian army husband and wife
5:58 Architects Ralph Schuler and urina
6:01 Schuler witz were chosen to design the
6:04 Behemoth and they conceived a futuristic
6:06 high-tech structure unlike anything that
6:08 had been seen before they wanted to
6:10 create a building that symbolized the
6:13 modernity and technological advancements
6:15 of the Berlin they wanted to live in
6:17 what they created was a striking mix of
6:20 brutalism and high-tech architecture you
6:22 can see this in the exposed steel beams
6:24 sharp angles and its machine-like
6:28 aesthetic this was technical optimism
6:29 and it represented all the hope that
6:32 West berliners had for the future the
6:35 Space Race as a Convention Center that
6:37 was probably the biggest contstruction
6:40 site ever in in in in West Berlin and
6:42 every time I drove by car with my
6:45 parents there was this huge construction
6:48 side on the ground construction works
6:51 first started in 1973 and when it was
6:54 completed in 1979 more than 900 million
6:56 deuts marks have been spent making it
6:58 the most expensive building in West
7:01 Berlin since the end of World War II at
7:05 320 M long 80 M wide and 40 m high it
7:07 was one of the largest buildings in the
7:09 city you could lie the Eiffel Tower down
7:12 flat and it would just about fit in
7:15 sight this site's also surrounded by
7:17 pretty busy RADS so getting the
7:20 soundproofing right was essential to
7:22 ensure that noise and vibrations from
7:25 the outside couldn't be felt Insight it
7:27 was decided that the ICC would become a
7:30 building within a building
7:32 this inner building would be enclosed in
7:34 an independently constructed separate
7:37 outer shell ironically a kind of Russian
7:40 doll of a structure this inner building
7:42 was made of reinforced concrete with
7:45 pretensioned transverse divider elements
7:47 as the main supports the weight of the
7:49 building was transferred down the
7:51 divider elements to the foundations near
7:54 P bearings were used to ensure technical
7:56 separation from any exterior sounds or
7:59 vibrations meanwhile the outer building
8:01 can consisted of exterior walls and the
8:04 roof effectively forming a shell around
8:06 the inner building the walls and roof
8:08 were built as a steel loadbearing
8:10 structure this is one of those buildings
8:12 that really isn't afraid to show off its
8:14 structure was in fact one of the first
8:16 in the world to start doing that a lot
8:18 of the really big engineering elements
8:20 instead of being hidden away are brought
8:22 out for the world to see like those huge
8:24 steel trusses you can see behind me they
8:26 carry the immense weight of what's
8:29 inside this Center this building really
8:32 does embrace its location at the axis of
8:35 so many motorways it even has a car
8:38 foyer in the form of a Drivin level
8:40 which allows cars to arrive immediately
8:42 below the main
8:45 entrance walking in here really is like
8:46 stepping back in time as soon as you
8:50 come inside that 1970s techno optimism
8:52 really hits you this is this is the
8:54 boulevard this is level zero this is
8:56 what most people would have experienced
8:57 as soon as they walked into this
9:00 building and it's like stepped onto the
9:02 set of Star Wars it really is out of this
9:03 this
9:06 world from this Boulevard you can access
9:08 staircases and escalators which are
9:10 arranged like side roads taking you up
9:12 to the other levels of the building this
9:15 turns level zero into a kind of traffic
9:17 Hub with its own Road system for
9:19 visitors when you enter this building
9:22 the first Association you have something
9:26 Beyond reality you feel like being in a
9:31 now one thing you won't have failed to
9:34 notice is the crazy lighting system
9:37 above my head it was designed by Berlin
9:40 based artist Frank erring red on one
9:43 side blue on the other and the idea of
9:44 that was to try and help people navigate
9:47 and find their way around this absolute
9:48 Maze of a
9:51 building and that lighting system all
9:53 comes together here above this Central
9:56 meeting point this sculpture above me is
9:59 called the brain and I don't know how
10:00 describe it it's kind of unlike anything
10:03 I've seen before it is an enormous great
10:05 thing it spans three stories up through
10:08 this building and it's covered in neon
10:09 light you can see these kind of like
10:11 strands radiating out from it they're
10:13 designed to look like nerve fibers
10:14 coming out and going out through the
10:17 building and the idea of this structure
10:19 was quite literally to break the ice get
10:22 people talking and to bring people
10:25 together things don't get any less
10:27 sci-fi As you move through the building
10:30 and there's a reason for that the r I'm
10:32 in now one of the lecture Halls Hall six
10:35 was actually modeled off Star Trek one
10:37 of the television shows that were
10:38 popular at the time and you can really
10:39 see where this building gets its
10:41 nickname the spaceship not just outside
10:43 but inside as well I feel like I'm in a
10:46 movie right now it's very very
10:48 cool so this is probably the most
10:50 impressive part of the IC right it's
10:54 called the main hall you can see 5,000
10:56 people and it's the first conference
10:58 room of its size ever constructed in
11:01 Germany and it could be made even bigger
11:03 the floor I'm currently standing on can
11:05 be lifted up connecting this hole to
11:07 another massive hole through there and
11:10 creating one of the biggest stages in
11:13 Europe but that's not all these enormous
11:16 rooms have another incredible
11:18 secret they're
11:21 floating they're both suspended from the
11:23 outer shell using a combination of
11:25 advanced structural and mechanical design
11:26 design
11:28 techniques those massive steel trusses
11:31 we showed you earlier extend up over the
11:33 roof of the building and they're the
11:36 primary loadbearing components
11:38 supporting those suspended holes that
11:41 are sitting inside Halles one and two
11:42 are directly suspended from these
11:44 trusses using tension steel hangers or
11:47 rods they transfer the weight of the
11:50 Halls to the roof trusses the trusses
11:51 themselves are supported by Massive
11:53 steel columns and Foundation points that
11:56 distribute the weight down to the ground
11:57 a really good way to show you how that
12:00 works is with this very cool physical
12:03 model of the ICC building I love stuff
12:05 like this you can see up here these big
12:07 steel roof Tres I just showed you
12:09 they're carrying the weight the huge
12:11 weight of those suspended theaters
12:13 transferring them across down the sides
12:15 of the building through these steel
12:17 colums and into the foundations in the
12:20 ground by suspending Halls one and two
12:22 The Architects effectively isolated them
12:25 from vibrations and noise generated in
12:27 other parts of the building particularly
12:29 the halls and spaces below and the
12:32 surrounding motorways that massively
12:34 improves Acoustics and means that more
12:35 than one event can take place at the
12:37 same time and that people can be as loud
12:40 as they want to be that suspended system
12:42 has been designed to accommodate all
12:44 kinds of loads including those caused by
12:46 crowd movement equipment vibrations and
12:49 environmental factors like winds or even
12:52 earthquakes it also frees up this
12:55 massive space underneath and creates
12:57 column free spaces inside the halls I
12:59 have to say I've had a good look around
13:00 I've tried to put this place through its
13:03 Paces right and there are literally no
13:06 bad seats it's a really clever and
13:09 sophisticated engineering solution and
13:12 part of what makes this building such an architectural
13:13 architectural
13:15 Landmark but when it was completed and
13:18 open to the public the reaction was
13:20 pretty mixed while some praised its
13:23 Forward Thinking and bold design others
13:25 noted the enormous construction costs
13:28 equivalent to over $1 billion in today's money
13:29 money
13:31 despite that the building has developed
13:33 an almost cult-like status and was given
13:35 a Heritage listing in
13:39 2019 everyone who comes to Berlin and
13:42 who passes by say wow what is that that
13:44 that is incredible what a iconic
13:47 architecture only from the outside but
13:50 if you are inside that's even more
13:53 amazing people came over from everywhere
13:55 in the world to join The Opening
13:57 Ceremonies for this building so it was a
13:59 very very known building not only in
14:02 Berlin but you can say in Europe was was
14:05 a very very famous uh
14:08 building but over the years it struggled
14:09 to be maintained for its original
14:12 purpose it's just too huge it was
14:15 effectively closed and abandoned in 2014
14:17 and it's been used as accomodation for
14:20 refugees a covid vaccination Center and
14:21 as a space for art
14:24 exhibitions was in the last 10 or 20
14:27 years there always was the idea of
14:29 destroying the building setting up
14:31 something new and there was always a big
14:33 opposition against it because people
14:35 love it it's one of the most important
14:39 sites of the city but now the city
14:40 government really does want to
14:43 rejuvenate this Sleeping Beauty they're
14:45 launching a competition where investors
14:48 can apply to use and run the building
14:50 I'm meeting people from all over the
14:53 world investors Architects courageous
14:56 people Innovative people that have ideas
14:57 it's not a competition where you just
15:00 you know say that is our concept and uh
15:02 take it or or don't take it but it's a
15:05 dialogue so the idea is that the
15:08 investor and The Architects they enter
15:11 into dialogue with the city of Berlin to
15:15 have the most Innovative concept for for
15:17 this building they'll be able to rent
15:20 the ICC for free for 99 years and bring
15:23 it back to life the only prerequisite is
15:25 that they have to remodel it and make it
15:29 available for public use I think 99% of
15:32 the biners love it and they wish to be
15:34 it open again because it's a public space
15:35 space
15:38 also they really is still a lot of love
15:42 for this abandoned spaceship structure
15:44 the recent art exhibition was sold out
15:46 and had incredible hype from the public
15:48 tickets to see inside the building on an
15:50 open Heritage day were snapped up in
15:55 just 2 hours the Berlin of today is a
15:57 city of innovation it's Germany's
16:00 startup Capital with 5 100 new Ventures
16:02 every year and of course it's the
16:04 political center of the country and a
16:06 key pillar of the
16:09 EU the city hopes to have made the
16:12 decision by the end of 2026 at which
16:14 point this sleeping giant might just
16:18 have new life breathe into it once again
16:20 this video was sponsored by the city of
16:22 Berlin you can learn more about that at
16:24 the link below don't forget that we're
16:26 inspiring the next generation of
16:28 Engineers through our investment into
16:30 brick bar borrow a fantastic Lego
16:32 subscription service you can learn more
16:34 and get started today over at Brick
16:37 bor.com and as always guys if you
16:38 enjoyed this video and you want to get
16:41 more from the definitive video channel
16:43 for construction make sure you subscribe
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